Mattresses are conventionally supported by a foundation such as a box spring or metallic springs. Larger beds such as king and queen sized beds require foundations which because of their relatively large size, are heavy and awkward to handle. In addition to this shortcoming, after the usefulness of a foundation has ended, it cannot be recycled but must, at cost and inconvenience be transported and disposed of at land-fill sites.
We have invented a knock-down foundation for a bed that can be easily assembled for use and dismantled for transport or disposal. The foundation is composed almost entirely of wood that is suitable for recycling or readily compostable at the end of its useful life. Where possible, pieces of wood which make up the foundation are interconnected by wooden dowels or tongues and grooves. Non-compostable material such as bolts and screws are kept to a minimum.
The foundation of out invention has other advantages generally not shared by conventional foundations. The wooden components of our foundation are designed to hold tightly together to minimize the number of gaps between adjacent parts. Gaps are undesirable because rubbing of the components of the foundation separated by the gaps occurs when there is movement on the foundation. Such rubbing produces undesirable squeaks, rattles and other undesirable noises.
Another advantage of our foundation is that the parts are designed to be assembled using power tools such as pneumatic presses in order to speed up the process of assembly. To this end, dowels and tongues used to interconnect the parts are preferably bevelled in order to align automatically with the openings or grooves in which they are inserted as they are pressed together.